Dragonfly
by Almech Alfarion
Summary: Three years after Ranma disappeared from Nerima with only a note left behind, Nabiki spots a familiar redhead in a cafe in downtown Tokyo. But Ranma isn't the same person who she remembers... Rated M for future violence and Adult themes.
1. Chapter 1: Reunion

Disclaimer: I do not own rights to either Ranma ½ or the Assassin's Creed franchise, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Ubisoft respectivly. I'm just floating an Idea... Please don't sue me. I don't have any money any way... Also... as at the beginning of both Assassin's Creed games it has the disclaimer that they were made by a multicultural team of many faiths and beliefs, I do not discriminate people on the basis of race, color, religion, etc... Just thought I should add that. If issues dealing with that come up later in the fic, just remember that it's just part of the story.

**Dragonfly**

**By: Almech Alfarion (Child of Fire)**

Chapter 1: Reunion

A motorcycle and its rider tore down the inner-city highway, making their way through the early morning weekend traffic of greater Tokyo looking like a black and red blur in the pre-dawn light, even to those driving in the same direction. Angry motorists and commuters beeped their horns at its passing but it was long gone before the sounds could register to the driver. Police vehicles took one look at the streak and decided it was a bad job and ignored it, some even recognizing it and thinking that the driver was setting a conservative pace today.

The driver's long mane of red hair flew out behind her, riding the winds of speed as she expertly piloted her bike towards her destination. A place she used to call home, but had since abandoned the thought of ever belonging there. It had been three long years since she had seen the building she had once believed would one day become the most permanent home she would ever have in her life. Slowing down some, but not much, so she could more easily navigate the city streets, she turned off the highway and into the streets of the Nerima Ward. Only a little longer and she would reach her destination: the Tendo Dojo.

* * *

Nabiki was nervous... on the inside. On the outside, she held onto her mask of cold indifference as a drowning man would hold onto a life preserver in a raging tempest. Three weeks ago, she had had a run in with someone she had thought long gone out of her life. She had been sitting in a little cafe in downtown Juuban, wanting to have a change in scenery for her lunch from the cafeteria the office building she worked in provided, when, who else, but Ranma should walk in and start up a conversation with the cashier like they knew each-other, after ordering her drink.

Now Nabiki hadn't recognized Ranma at first, Oh no... Pierced ears, unbound waist length hair, and makeup were not things that went together with Ranma in her mind. She had done a double take before the redhead's voice struck a cord of recognition in Nabiki...

---Flashback---

"RANMA!!!"

Ranma turned from her conversation with the cashier, looking a little confused at the call.

"Over here!" Nabiki waved to her, a look of shock writ large on her face.

Ranma came over to her, still looking a little confused, "Nabiki?"

Faster then she had thought possible Nabiki was hugging the now thoroughly startled redhead, "Oh thank Kami-sama I found you! We've been looking everywhere for you!"

Ranma was worried now. If this truly was Nabiki Tendo, she had either changed dramatically in the three years that she had been gone from the Tendo household or something really bad had happened to get her this emotional... "What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's your mother Ranma... She's sick... Even Tofu-sensei and Cologne say that there isn't anything that they can do to help her. They say that she only has about a year at best..." Nabiki was still hugging Ranma, even starting to cry a little. Nodoka had become somewhat of a mother figure next to Kasumi in the time she had been in the Tendo home. "She wants to see you Ranma... before she joins her ancestors..."

Nabiki felt Ranma tense in her arms, and then relax a little. "I can't Nabiki..." she finally said, "At least not right away. I have some... things... that I need to do before I can go back there. Shouldn't take more then a couple weeks though."

Nabiki let go of her at this and backed up a little to more fully take in the changes in Ranma's appearance. She had already noticed the longer, unbound hair, pierced ears and light makeup. She was a little taller then Nabiki remembered Ranma's girl form being, roughly 163 cm instead of the 150 cm she used to be, but it had been a few years so she guessed that Ranma had grown a little in that time. Gone though, were the old Chinese silks, replaced by something that military personnel might wear. Calf high, heavy leather boots with the bottom cuffs of a pair of black military style fatigues tucked into the tops. A black tee-shirt was tucked into her pants which were held up by a web mesh belt with what looked like sleeves for standard and not so standard equipment for the security guards Nabiki had seen on her trips to New York City, minus the gun, along with some canisters that looked suspiciously like something called a "Flash Bang" she had seen on a TV documentary... though considering the leather jacket that Ranma wore over her shirt, she wouldn't be surprised if the gun was hidden somewhere out of sight. Noted also, were at least three very well hidden knives, only visible to her due to her time as the "Ice Queen of Furinkan High" and the powers of observation that the position demanded. One knife in her right boot, one on her belt, and one tucked into a bracer on her left arm hidden by the jacket, with more likely to be better hidden and out of sight. To top it off was a very well disguised flesh-colored ear-bud in her right ear with the cord going down into the neck of the jacket, presumably to a radio hidden somewhere on her person. Nabiki idly noted that Ranma also seemed to be wearing a bra.

Then there was how she held herself. Gone was the cocky, overconfident manner the Saotome had carried himself with, replaced with a controlled posture, still speaking of confidence, but a confidence in abilities earned and known inside and out to their absolute limits. And the eyes... those deep blue eyes held an edge that hadn't been there three years ago. Nabiki's old "Ice Queen: I know a Secret" smile couldn't have done it better, but the secrets that these eyes told of were those that were better left in the darkness that they came from.

"What happened to you?" Nabiki breathed after taking this all in. Ranma had changed dramatically in the time that she had been gone. To say that Nabiki was shocked would be akin to saying that the sun is mildly warm.

"I... can't tell you..." Ranma's face looked sad. "Not here anyway. It's not safe, for you, or me..." She looked to the side and spoke in a whisper that Nabiki barely caught, "There could still be some survivors around..."

_Survivors? Survivors of what? And why was Ranma worried about 'survivors'? _Questions filled Nabiki's head at these words that she was sure she both was, and wasn't supposed to hear.

After a long pause in which Nabiki could feel a heaviness in the air Ranma moved to hug her. "I'll see you around." She said, "Safety and peace be upon you" and she let go and walked out the door leaving a confused Nabiki behind.

Later that evening after Nabiki got back home she was checking her pockets to make sure that she hadn't forgotten anything when she felt a peace of paper that hadn't been there before. She took out the folded peace of note paper, curious as to what it was; she opened it and saw that it was a note.

_Nabiki._

_There are reasons that I cannot tell you everything at this time, and they are for your own safety. Know that in time I will tell all, however I need time to tie up some loose ends so that when we next speak, we may speak with the knowledge that the enemies of freedom will not be listening. There is much that I wish that I could tell you at this time but please remember that there are things in this world greater than humanity. Jusenkyo should have been proof enough of this to your mind._

_Go to the Tokyo International Airport. In Terminal 2 you will find a locker marked with an 'A' inscribed inside of a circle with a broken cross underneath it. The Combination is 3-27-65. Inside you will find a disposable phone that I will use to contact you when all is ready. DO NOT USE IT FOR ANY REASON! And destroy it after I have contacted you._

_Ranma Saotome_

_P.S. It is extremely important that you burn this note when you are done reading it. Make sure that there is only ash that remains._

_P.P.S. Also... Please don't tell anyone (Even your family or mine) that you have spoken to me... you never know who might be listening._

---End Flashback---

Nabiki's mind filled with questions when she had finished reading the note. _Who were the 'enemies of Freedom'? _She had spoken of, and, _what did she mean by 'things greater than humanity'?_ And even more troubling; _when did she write the note? I was looking at her the whole time we were talking and she looked surprised to see me when I called to her... was I set up?_

Regardless she had done as she had been asked and burned the note after memorizing every last word, and she had gone to the Tokyo International Airport and found the locker with the phone inside. She carefully made sure that it was on her person at all times and was charged. The Tendos and Saotomes also remained in the dark, per Ranma's wishes for secrecy.

Then, three days ago, the phone rang and Nabiki answered. The message was short and to the point, and Nabiki wasn't even allowed a word in edge wise before Ranma hung up. _"Gather the New Wing Council in the place where stones are broken. The Horse returns to its stable in three days time. *Click*" _Nabiki was confused by this... She didn't know of any "New Wing Council" and the only times she had seen stones broken were when she witnessed Ryoga perform his Bakusai Tenketsu technique... it took her a few hours of confusion to figure out that it was a code. "New Wing Council" started with the letters "NWC", the same acronym for the term "Nerima Wrecking Crew", coined by the populace of Nerima to describe Ranma and his followers/rivals/enemies/friends.

The "place where stones are broken" was a bit harder to break but now that she knew that she was looking at a code she was more alert to things that Ranma might have associated to broken stones. It wasn't until the morning after she had received the call that it clicked, when she heard the patter of concrete bits on the roof, testament to Akane's morning brick breaking. Ranma wanted her to gather everyone in the Dojo. And she only had three days to do it. On top of that she didn't know if Ranma still wanted to keep their meeting a secret. _Damn you Saotome, do you have any idea how hard that's going to be?_

Somehow she had managed it all in a day. The easiest were the Amazons, as they were still living at the Nekohanten in the hopes that Ranma would someday return. She just told them that there was going to be a meeting in the Dojo in three days and that some of the things discussed may be of interest to them. Cologne had tried to gather more information from Nabiki, but came up with nothing when Nabiki said that she was "just the messenger".

Ukyou was nearly as easy, but more difficult to convince to come because she needed to run her restaurant. One passing comment, that they might discuss the topic of trying to find Ranma so he could see his mother again, and she agreed to come with hardly a second thought.

Then came the hard ones... Ryoga and Happosai. Ryoga because he could literally be anywhere in the world at any given moment, and Happosai because convincing him to do anything usually meant shedding some of your dignity and offering up a sacrifice of "Silky Darlings" to the perverted grandmaster. A few well placed calls and Nabiki found that Ryoga had been at Akari's farm for the last couple of weeks and she asked Akari if she could bring Ryoga to the Tendos and have him there in three days. Akari agreed. Happosai was located on one of his panty raids and Nabiki told him to meet her in his room at the Tendo compound to negotiate something. Three hours, some choice words from Nabiki, and two pairs of panties that Nabiki had "borrowed" from Akane and Happosai agreed to be at the dojo when the meeting began.

Then came the family... It should be said, both families, but the Saotomes had been living at the Tendo compound for so long that they seemed as much a part of the family as her father, sisters, and other assorted relations. Tofu Ono had proposed to, and married Kasumi barley a year earlier after getting over his nervousness, and Ms. Hinako had moved in to be closer to her fiancé, one Soun Tendo, shortly before Nabiki had run into Ranma. Nabiki had brought up the topic of a meeting being held in the Dojo in three days at dinner that night. After some initial questioning as to the nature of the meeting she conceded that she had been contacted by an individual, who wished to remain anonymous, who wanted her to gather all of Ranma's old acquaintances at the dojo for a meeting. With the thought that Ranma was involved somehow, they agreed to make room for the meeting in their daily plans.

The Kunos were conveniently forgotten as Nabiki made her plans to get everyone back together.

And so, here she was on the third day after Ranma's call, waiting for the hammer to drop. Six in the morning and the sun was just barely peeking over the horizon, Kasumi was in the kitchen preparing breakfast as usual... and Nabiki was more nervous then she ever remembered being in her entire life, so nervous in fact that she was wide awake even in the absence of her three morning cups of coffee. Ranma was returning, but not the Ranma that anyone remembered... Oh no, this Ranma spoke in codes and hinted about enemies and greater powers. This Ranma knew secrets and knew how to keep them well. The Ranma that she remembered hadn't understood the war of minds as she had. The subtle motions that people move in that could be read if one knew what to look for. No... He had been little more than a martial arts jock who spoke more with his fists then he did with his mouth, and had all the tact of a donkey when he did voice his opinion.

She heard something that sounded like a cross between a jet engine and the noise those "crotch-rockets" Akane had taken a liking to made, approaching on the road, steadily getting louder until it seemed to stop and idle outside the front gate and abruptly stop altogether. The bell at the gate rang...

* * *

Ranma was riding her bike along streets she hadn't walked in over three years. She had slowed down considerably since reaching the area in Nerima around Furinkan High, taking in the sights and sounds, seeing what had changed and what had not, and just loosing herself in the nostalgia of the moment. She rode past the front gate of Furinkan High itself and remembered how she had been ambushed by Ryoga less then two weeks after arriving in Nerima, and the fight they had had when Akane's hair had been cut short a week later... She remembered all the other adventures that had taken place inside those walls, the search for the Japanese Nanniichuan, Liberating and returning the girls underwear that Happosai had stolen from time to time, the search for the "No Follow Da Rules" Coconut the crazed principle had set them on, the list went on...

Ranma sighed as she remembered a happier time when she had been blind to the world. Blind to the truth, because of her father's teachings, and the propaganda of the governments of the world they lived in. She still remembered the Martial Artist's Oath, "Protect the Weak and Defenseless", but now she had another creed, "Nothing Is True, Everything Is Permitted". Where one told her to shield those who are unable to help themselves from physical harm and to teach them so that they may protect themselves in the future, the other told her to protect those same people from themselves. Protect them from their own ignorance and the ignorance that their "Benevolent Leaders" would place upon them, so as to make them easier to control, in much the same manner as her first oath. Open their eyes to the truth, and teach them so that they may be enlightened.

She was riding down the street next to the canal, remembering how often she had fallen in as she had walked along the edge of the fence separating it from the sidewalk. How often she and Akane had run all the way to school from the Tendo Compound because they had taken to long to get ready. Remembering how she had first met her mother, after one of those times she had fallen in, and how her mother hadn't known that the redheaded girl she had tried to help out of the canal was actually her son turned daughter...

She slowed down even further as she approached the Tendo Compound. Memories of happier times came to her with wild abandon as the perimeter walls came into sight. All the times when she had launched Kuno over that wall and into Low Earth Orbit for some transgression or another, battling Happosai for daring to try to put a bra on her or squeeze her breasts, the never ending shogi game her father and Mr. Tendo had played... The list was even longer then that of the school and she shed a tear for the lost innocence of those times.

Ranma slowed down to a stop as she pulled to the side of the road in front of the front gates to the compound and turned off her bike. More memories of her first time passing through those gates, slung over her father turned panda's shoulder, kicking and screaming that she didn't want to get married and to put her down. The last time she had seen those gates, she had only seen them from the inside as she left, without a second glance behind her.

Taking in the early morning sights and smells, she dismounted, walked up to the gate, and pulled the cord to ring the bell...

* * *

...The bell at the gate rang.

From the kitchen Kasumi called out "I'll get it" knowing that Nabiki was awake and alert enough to respond to the call. Nabiki followed anyway and heard voices at the gate, "Good morning, how may I help you?" she heard Kasumi say.

"Is this the Tendo Residence?" a second voice said. _Oh crap that's Ranma! Oh Kami-sama, please don't let Kasumi recognize her yet..._

"Yes it is. I am Kasumi, how can I help you, would you like to join us for breakfast?" Nabiki was standing in the entrance hall now and distinctly heard the slight confusion in her older sister's voice. _This isn't good... _she thought.

"No thank you, I already ate. I'm actually looking for one Nabiki Tendo, May I speak with her?"

"I'm here!" Nabiki called out as she almost ran the rest of the distance to the front gate in an attempt to forestall her sister in recognizing who their guest was. What she saw when she got there was almost what she had been expecting... Ranma was there, still female, and wearing the exact same cloths that she had been wearing when they had bumped into each other, or if they weren't the same then Ranma owned matching sets. Ranma's hair was slightly windblown and Nabiki wondered how it got that way before spotting the motorcycle parked on the other side of the street. It looked like a red and black cross between something out of "Tron" and Clouds motorcycle form that "Final Fantasy Seven" movie she had seen a while back. _Ohhh..... Akane is going to freak when she sees that. Obviously a custom job. I wonder how much it cost..._

Ranma smiled and nodded to her, and then looked at Kasumi with a look that asked for privacy. Kasumi got an odd look on her face before turning and going back into the house. Once they were alone, she spoke. "Is anyone here yet?"

"No, only the family, Happosai, and Hinako-sensei, and they're all still asleep. I assume that you know that Kasumi and Tofu-sensei are married?"

Ranma nodded that she did indeed know that they were married and motioned that they should head to the Dojo building. "Is there anywhere I can stay out of sight until everyone else is here?" she said when they got there.

"Why?" Nabiki was confused. Ranma had wanted this meeting, but now she was saying that she didn't want anyone to see her.

"Many reasons. First and foremost being that I'd rather not be hounded by everyone until I can answer everyone's questions all at once."

Nabiki thought of it for a moment. "None that I know of... the roof is out because I'm betting that some of our guests will be coming over the walls so they might see you... Your best bet would actually be my room considering no one goes in there without a reason..." she looked to see where Ranma had been standing and saw that she was gone. _Well that was rather rude...

* * *

_

Breakfast came around. Kasumi asked who Nabiki's friend was and her reply was that she was someone she had contacted for the meeting later that day. Everyone else's curiosity was piquet. Who was this mysterious person Nabiki had talked to that morning and what did they have to do with Ranma's past? Was it another fiancée? These and more were the questions that occupied their minds as they sat and ate their food.

The "guests" began to arrive. First to arrive was Ukyou, saying that "If I'm going to close the Restaurant I may as well make a day of it." Next were the Amazons who quickly found places in the back corner of the Dojo and began a hushed conversation in rapid-fire mandarin. Happosai had decided to stay the night so he was already there and just hung around the compound, ironing his "collection" to pass the time until their mysterious host decided to show themselves. Last to arrive sometime around Noon were Ryoga and Akari on her massive prize pig Katsunishiki. They found a place next to one of the walls of the Dojo. The Tendos and Saotomes were the last to completely join them seeing as how Kasumi and Nodoka were held up in the kitchen preparing a rather large quantity of food for lunch to sate the hunger of so many martial artists.

Everyone had their food and idle chit-chat started up. It was slightly past noon and everyone was enjoying themselves, though it was hard to tell for the Amazons seeing as they were still keeping mostly to themselves, when the voice broke over everyone. "I'm so glad that you could all make it."

Silence.

They knew that voice.

They all turned as one to the door. All but Nabiki, that is, as she had been looking at the door for the past half hour, wondering when Ranma would make her appearance. Standing in the frame was Ranma, still in her boots, fatigues, utility belt, black shirt, and leather jacket, though Nabiki idly noted that Ranma had straightened out her hair from earlier that morning. The redhead smiled and walked further into the building, scanning the faces of the gathered individuals, stopping when she met Cologne's eyes. She held up her left hand in a curious gesture. The back of her hand was towards Cologne, every finger extended fully except for her ring finger, which was bent to look as though it had been severed. "Nothing is True..."

Cologne's eyes widened in shock at this. Then after a short pause to gather herself, she held up her left hand towards Ranma in the same gesture and cited "...Everything is Permitted." Another pause, and then "Dear God child... How?"

Akane spoke up, "How what? What's going on?" She was confused and a little angry about being left in the dark. Cologne just sat there and stared at Ranma with her mouth hanging open slightly.

"What's going on Ran-Chan?" Was Ukyou's response. "What does that mean? Nothing is True? Everything is Permitted?"

"Yes Great-Grandmother. What that mean?" was Shampoo's response. She was wondering why the words her Airen had said had upset her Great-Grandmother so much.

Happosai was thoughtful. He spoke slowly and deliberately, "Any competent Cross-Man Spy can know those words and Sign that hand... Where is your Proof?" His gaze bored a hole into his wayward apprentice, and now everyone was staring at him.

Ranma turned slowly towards the diminutive troll. "The Cross-Man is weak, because he must hide in the shadows to survive, while we walk in the day and the night freely" and with that she held up her left arm and pulled down the sleeve of her jacket to reveal a heavy looking leather bracer with an ornate design of silver leaves and a symbol that looked like an upside-down 'V' with the tips curved inwards embossed on the surface. All in all, it was quite impressive. Happosai breathed a sigh of relief at the sight, and followed Cologne in holding up his left hand in the gesture and murmured "...Everything is Permitted."

Silence reined supreme once more before the resident idiot decided to open his mouth. "What's going on Boy, and why are you a Girl? Change back this instant!" Genma bellowed, and he grabbed the kettle kept on hand for the Jusenkyo victims in the room and threw it at Ranma's head.

Ranma successfully dodged the kettle, but failed to avoid the steaming water that had spilled out as it spun through the air and got a face full. Nothing happened.

Everyone stared in shock at the sight. "It would seam that Ranma is locked again" Ryoga said once he had recovered enough to speak.

"No... Not locked. I've just found a way to control when I change." She smiled at the shocked looks on everyone's faces and prepared for the inevitable barrage of demands to tell them how. It came a few seconds later and no one could hear anyone else over the volume of the questions/demands being shouted at Ranma for the next few seconds until Cologne shouted over everyone else, using her Ki to enhance her voice and make it so that there was no question but to obey "SILENCE!!!!!!!!!" She then turned and walked up to Ranma and asked in a voice that only the redhead could hear "I'm assuming that you don't have the staff with you?"

"No, that's safely locked away in the vault. I did however get permission to carry an 'Apple' to this little meeting." Ranma quietly answered her with a serious look on her face. Cologne and Happosai's eyes widened a little at this news and wondered why Ranma would need an "Apple" for a "family reunion" of sorts.

"Um... Ran-chan? If you can control your curse now, why are you in your cursed form" Ukyou timidly spoke up, fearing retribution from Cologne for breaking the silence again.

"Oh the Shame! My Son has turned into a Weak, Stupid, Incomp... GECK!" Genma had begun his usual tirade when all of a sudden he found himself on his back with Ranma pinning him to the ground and a blade hovering mere centimeters from his face, poised between his eyes. What everyone else saw though, was Ranma with Genma pinned underneath her, her right hand on his throat and the left hovering about thirty centimeters away from his head with her fingers spread and the hand bent back... and a long blade protruding from the bracer she had shown Happosai earlier, with the tip hovering mere centimeters from the Panda man's face.

"If I didn't know you so well from the time we spent on the training trip I'd have to say you were Templar the way you would spread your ignorance." Ranma's words were even, clear enough for everyone in the room to hear... and colder then steel in a blizzard. Cologne and Happosai gave gasps at Ranma's words, knowing full well what she had implied with them. Everyone else held their breaths as Ranma's blade hung centimeters from finishing her father's life. It hung there a little longer before Ranma pulled her hand back and straightened her wrist to retract the blade as she got up.

"You were wondering what the words mean... They are our Creed. The Assassin's Creed; Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted. We live in the knowledge that nothing we see of this world is completely true as it is seen on the surface. That there is no absolute Truth to everything that is. And that in a world where 'Nothing is True' 'Everything is Permitted'. Anything and everything can happen in a world where there is no absolute truth. Nothing is impossible and it is only through our choices that we control our own fates." Ranma was standing over Genma, glairing daggers at him, her words were still even, but the frost was gone, replaced by steel. "And that is our goal. 'To enlighten Humanity to the fact that they control their own fates, so that they can make their own choices, instead of others controlling them by manipulating that choice.' To withhold knowledge willfully is to enslave the person you withhold knowledge from. I have not forgotten, _Father_, how you kept things from me so that I would do what you wanted. How you told me that a 'Martial Artists doesn't need an Education' so that I would be easier to control through my ignorance..."

She turned to Ukyou and spoke evenly, addressing the room at large now. "You asked why I am a woman when I say I have the power to control what was once a curse." She looked at her mother who had been nervously sitting off to the side for the whole affair. "Liffey ó Floinn, Marie Dubois, and Catharine Hastings. Do those named mean anything to you?"

Nodoka was a little startled at being addressed so directly, and even more shocked that Ranma knew those names, and that Ranma knew that she knew them as well. She answered "They are all ancestors on my mother's side; Irish, French, and English lineage respectively. All women known better for their habits of climbing to the tops of tall buildings and getting into fights with boys instead of being proper women. Why?"

Ranma's answer caught everyone off guard. "Well other then the fact that each was born almost exactly fifty years after the previous one died, were active members of the Assassin Order when they were alive, and that they all looked almost exactly like I do? I only have half their memories stuffed sideways in my head..." She turned back to addressing the room at large, hovering over where Akane was sitting for slightly longer then the rest before moving on, "You try being a guy when you remember the life and times of a woman who got married when she was fourteen and already had three kids by the time she was twenty."

Silence hung in the air once more as the gathered assembly wondered what Ranma meant by having "Half their memories stuffed sideways" in her head and what it had to do with her preferring to be a girl. Cologne and Happosai thought they had a good idea of what she meant, but didn't want to voice their opinions without more information. A look passed between them and Cologne nodded and spoke, "What troubles me more then the fact that you appear to have relived your ancestors' lives, is that you even have that Bracer, Ranma... you weren't scheduled to take the trials until a year from now..." Ranma merely looked at her and raised a single eyebrow...

"Trials, Great-Grandmother?" Shampoo asked. She was very confused by the conversation only the two elders and her Airen seemed to be following. "And what you mean 'relive ancestors' lives'?"

Cologne was finally shaken out of her musings by her Great-Granddaughter's words. She gave a sidelong look to Ranma and asked so no one but she and Happosai could hear "I assume that this is why you wanted the 'Apple'?"

Ranma nodded and replied in an equally low tone "Yes, but I wouldn't mind if you could give an explanation, so that they can have more then just my viewpoint."

The ancient elder nodded and addressed Shampoo with a voice that told the whole room that they should listen because she was only going to explain this once. "The trials that Ranma was not supposed to take until a year from now, are the tests that prospective members of our Order undertake, with or without knowledge that they are being tested, to prove themselves ready. You, yourself, Shampoo will not be ready until you complete your education." Shampoo pouted; her "education" included properly learning the "barbaric" language of Japanese. Cologne turned to Happosai and whispered "Artifacts of the mind are more your area of expertise Happi..."

Happosai just glared at Cologne for a second before clearing his throat as he began to pace the length of the Dojo and continued, "As to what Ranma means by having the memories of her ancestors... There are things in this world, both ancient artifacts and more modern technology, which allow an individual to 'relive' the lives of their ancestors through their memories. You literally re-experience everything that your ancestor did. Thoughts, emotions, the gaining of skills, the use of skills already possessed... And this is where the problem lies..." he paused and everyone except for Ranma and Cologne were giving him funny looks, they thought that seeing what their ancestors did in their lives would be a great thing. Happosai just gave them a sidelong look and raised an eyebrow. "The Problem is that you _are_ re-living the life of your ancestor. Their memories become yours. Their skills and talents become yours. Likes, dislikes, personal philosophies, the list goes on... Do it to much and it becomes difficult for someone to know which memories are theirs and which are their ancestors, and they can sometimes have flashbacks of their ancestors lives even when not using the device that allows them to relive the memories. Some methods, of course, are safer than others... but they all suffer from the bleeding affect to some degree or another... I would assume that this is why Ranma now prefers her Female form. The three people she mentioned that she had the memories of, as Nodoka said, were all women..."

"As to the how and why, along with the answers to many of the other questions that you have? It will be easier to show you..." Ranma picked up where Happosai dropped off. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a golden orb about the size of a softball. It had grooves set in intricate patterns etched into its surface. "This," she held the ball at eye level so that everyone could see it, "is called an 'Apple'. It is an artifact that's creation dates back all the way to the beginning of humanity. Its main purpose is to function as a sort of archive, but that is not all it can do. I have been studying this particular 'Apple' since I first found it and I still don't know everything about it. One thing I do know that it does however, is it allows the person who uses it, and anyone else around them, to view things that have happened in their past from a different point of view."

Ranma sat down on the floor and held the Apple in front of her as Happosai and Cologne returned to their seats. She started pressing points on the Apple and it seemed to open with a tinkling metallic sound and started emitting a soft white glow and a pleasant humming noise. "I will start a little bit before when I left, just so you can better understand. One warning; this will only take a few seconds to finish, but when it is done it will be as though you had been there to witness the events of the last three years of my life. It isn't like the things Master Happosai described, where you would be re-living a memory, but more like watching a very long movie, with the exception that what you see and hear are things that have actually happened."

No one in the room moved except for Ranma, who pressed a couple more points on the Apple. The light it emitted grew brighter, the humming, louder, and it began to hover a couple centimeters above her hand. The steady light turned into a pulsing, which steadily grew brighter and more frequent. Everyone in the room was staring at the ball with rapt attention now. And then it gave off one pulse that was brighter then any before. So bright that for a moment, there were no shadows in the Dojo and everyone who had been looking directly at it needed to blink spots out of their eyed as they had been temporarily blinded by the flash.

It was over. The Apple was no longer humming or glowing at all and Ranma was putting it back into her jacket. Nabiki was about to ask if Ranma had made a mistake because she didn't remember anything, but stopped when she felt a pull on her mind. Yelling... She remembered hearing yelling coming from downstairs but had passed it off as one of Ranma and Akane's usual arguments, it was a memory from the day Ranma had left. She decided to examine this pull on this memory more closely...

And the memories came...

---End Chapter 1---

* * *

Authors Notes: Ok... first chapter... not much has happened yet I guess. One thing I should say to all you nitpickers about continuity out there is that it has been THREE YEARS since the end of the Ranma ½ Manga. Of course Ranma is going to be acting a little OOC, it will be explained in time... To the Assassin's Creed people, I will explain how Cologne and Happosai can be Assassins and not have known about Ranma being one also, later. On the note of the "Pieces of Eden" and the "Apples" from the Assassin's Creed universe; Assassin's Creed II only lists nine known Pieces, the first five being "Apples" with the next listed piece being #25 "The Sword" and the last with a number being #66, and one labled "Piece of Eden X"... needless to say, there are a few that haven't been listed there, so I will be adding a few of my own in later chapters.

For those of you wondering about the "Cross-man" comment made by Ranma and Happosai at the beginning of the meeting, I had to come up with a slang/derogatory term for the Assassins to use for the Templars. The Templar emblem is a Cross so it seamed appropriate...


	2. Chapter 2: Words

If you want a disclaimer see the top of Chapter 1 because I'm not typing it out twice...

* * *

Ok... beginning notes: For those of you who absolutely have to know, I'm only saying this once. This fic is sort of a flash-back deal... At the end of Chapter 1 I have an event where Everyone in the dojo at the time has the events of the last three years of Ranma's life downloaded into their head in a third person perspective (Not like the animus in AC where you're going through memories... more like watching a VERY long movie...). The chapters from here on out, unless I get some weird idea along the way, will start with events that happened Three years or so in the past from the events in Chapter 1, but only a few months after the end of the Ranma ½ Manga. I don't know where I'll put the insertion point for the Assassins Creed universe yet but I have some Ideas. BUT DON'T ASK ME! I haven't gotten that far in writing this yet. I'm basically posting this fresh off the keyboard as is...

* * *

**Dragonfly**

By: Almech Alfarion (Child of Fire)

Chapter 2: Words...

It was a hot, muggy, mid-summers day in the Nerima ward of Tokyo. To make it worse the fickle breeze couldn't make up its mind on weather it wanted to blow or not. Many of the residents of the ward had fled to the beach to cool off by or in the ocean, leaving only a few behind to find refuge in whatever air conditioned buildings they could find. One such group was the Saotomes and the Tendos, as they had just gotten back from the beach the day before.

Ranma was glad to be back at the Tendo home. He both loved and hated the beach. Loved because he was able to show off his proficiency in moving through water, and the ease in which he could score free eats from many of the vendors lining the sand; the annoyed glances that Akane shot him about once every five minutes for either reason were just a bonus. He hated it because he needed to be a girl to do either of those things. The free eats weren't so bad; he could do that in Nerima whenever he wanted and had refined his technique into what could be considered a science. It was the swimming, and the fact that he had to wear a girl's bathing suit just so that he could swim without giving a free peep show because of his curse, that bothered him.

Ranma hated wearing girl's cloths for any reason, despite the fact that he had somewhat come to terms with his Jusenkyo curse and that he would probably turn into a girl when splashed with cold water for the rest of his life. Seeing the pools of Jusenkyo flooded during the monsoon like rains after he had defeated Saffron only served to drive the last nail into that coffin. He would do it if he needed to for a challenge, or if it was the only way for him to get something that he wanted or needed, but that didn't mean that he liked it.

But now they were home and he no longer needed to wear girl's cloths just to avoid an embarrassing situation. Mr. Tendo and his father were sitting on the porch playing their never-ending game of shogi, Kasumi was outside, hanging laundry on the line with Nodoka helping her, Akane was out with her friends either shopping or eating ice-cream, Nabiki was Kami-sama knew where, and Ranma was sitting on the roof, thinking.

The last three months since the failed wedding attempt had been unusually quiet for Nerima in his opinion. Usually there was something odd that would happen about once a week or so; either some contest, a new challenger to the Dojo, or some other crises. Three months since Saffron and the wedding disaster and nothing. Not even Ryoga had shown up in that entire time shouting "Ranma Saotome! Prepare to DIE!", or another fiancée popping up out of the wood-work. Oh sure, Shampoo still bugged him every chance she got and Ukyou was still going strong in the hope that he would choose her, and he would hear Kodachi's insane laughter from time to time; he would always make his exit shortly after hearing this.

The only fiancée who was acting any different was Akane. He had noticed it a couple days after the wedding disaster. He had been working out in the back yard when he noticed that one of the bushes was moving oddly. Not wanting to alert whoever was spying on him to the fact that he knew they were there, he opened up his Ki sense and felt Akane's aura in the bush. Her aura told him that she was concentrating on something to the exclusion of all else, and he didn't need three guesses to know that she was watching him. She wasn't bothering him so he just continued as he had been for another half hour.

He then went and got a glass of water, and for the first time, took some advice that Cologne had given him all the way back when she had been teaching him the Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken; that he should train both of his forms equally because, while some of the strength and speed would carry over, not all of it would. Proof in point was that he was faster when he was a girl and stronger as a guy because most of the intensive speed training he had done had been when he was under the influence of the Full Body Cat's Tongue pressure point and couldn't become a guy, and he had only really trained as a guy, outside of when it was unavoidable, until now so most of his strength had been developed while in his birth form. Akane was still there when she returned to her practice. She seemed more distracted now though. Nervousness and just a hint of fear, which was quickly squashed, entered her aura and she quietly left shortly after.

This would repeat every couple of days; Akane would sneak in to watch him practice, he would find some cold water to do his training as a girl, and she would leave. This was strange because Akane had never watched him practice before. Everywhere else she seemed to be avoiding him for the most part, though. Three months and not once had Akane suggested that she should cook dinner and whenever he would enter the same room she was in, or she entered a room he was in, Akane would either find something to distract herself, or excuse herself, and she had been spending allot of time out with friends since the end of the last term of school. The trip to the beach had been the first time that she had acted almost like her old self; arguing with him over the little things, and getting annoyed every time he would scam something from a vendor. She hadn't even hit him once in all that time though.

Things were to quiet in his opinion. The last two and a half years of his life had been one big challenge after another, with general craziness sprinkled in between. And when you've lived with chaos for most of the last few years, you learn that the quiet times usually mean that there is a storm coming. His only question now was, how big was the storm, and how was he going to survive it, because this was the longest quiet spell he had ever seen...

* * *

Evening was approaching and Ranma was getting ready to practice outside by the koi pond, since he was planning on running through some of his more areal katas, and was also considering experimenting with some possible ki techniques he had thought of to help him slow and control his falls more then he already did. It had cooled off to a more bearable temperature from earlier in the day, but it was still hot. Akane had returned home a few hours ago and headed straight to her room to drop off her purchases. Nabiki had shown up a few minutes later and grabbed a snack in the kitchen before heading up to her room, muttering something about adjusting the odds on one of her betting pools. The fathers had left a little while ago to go for a pub crawl, and Nodoka and Kasumi were out getting groceries for supper and would be back in a few hours.

Thirty minutes into the practice and Ranma felt the familiar presence of Akane watching him from the bushes. She seemed more troubled today. He read conflicting emotions from her aura; happiness, anger, wonder, jealousy, respect, hints of fear, and other contradictory emotions all played through her aura as she watched him go through the motions of his katas. Minutes passed and eventually came the point where Ranma would change into a girl to practice. Mid kata he leapt, aiming in the direction of the koi pond. He wanted to test one of his new Ki techniques so he landed a little bit short of the pond, but he had enough momentum to slide the rest of the distance to the edge of the koi pond...

And the momentum continued to carry him over the surface of the water. He came to a stop standing on the surface of the water in the middle of the pond. The slide had been far from perfect. As he had moved, the water at his feet bulged in front of his path and seemed to dip after he passed over, only to eventually break and create a wave that carried the collected water over his, now her, knees. She felt Akane's aura shift to complete surprise, no doubt having expected Ranma to fall into the pond completely, instead of move over the surface.

Ranma looked down at her feet, wondering how long she could do this. It was quite intensive, considering that the technique needed her to keep a constant stream of ki going to reach the bottom of the pond to push herself to the surface, using the water to help buoy her up, and keep her there. She was beginning to feel the strain of keeping herself from sinking beneath the surface already, and it had only been a few seconds. She knew that she wouldn't be able to do this over deeper bodies of water any time soon unless she found a way to either reduce the ki she needed to push herself up, or she found a way to keep herself on the surface without needing to push all the way down to the bottom.

"How are you Doing that?!" Akane was staring at her, wide-eyed, and standing in the bushes that she had been trying to hide in just moments before. Ranma looked up from her place in the middle of the pond and blinked a couple times. She had forgotten that Akane was watching her after seeing that her technique, however inefficient in terms of ki usage, had worked. She took a couple experimental steps around the pond to see if she could walk on water with the technique, and not just keep herself from sinking. The first couple tries, she sank to her shins and nearly pitched head-first into the water, before she caught herself and buoyed herself back to the surface.

Still walking around carefully and sinking less with each step as she altered and modified the new technique to be more efficient and keep her on the surface as she walked at the same time she answered in a thoughtful voice, "I'm not quite sure myself right now... I started out by kinda' pushin' my ki to the bottom of the pond while usin' the water as a sort'a buoy. But now it's more like I'm pushin' the water under my feet up with my ki in a kind'a swirl... Still not what I really want, but it'll havta' do for now... What?" Akane was looking at her incredulously.

"Where did you get the idea to do that?" she asked as she walked up to the pond to look at the surface in wonder. She had an awed expression on her face. If she could learn how to use that technique, she might never need to fear drowning because she couldn't swim again.

Ranma walked to the edge of the pond and sat down on one of the larger stones with her bare feet dangling in the water. She looked at Akane with a thoughtful expression on her face before turning her head to look at the pond again, "Somethin' the Old Ghoul did when I had that Cat's Tongue pressure point on me..." She paused and looked up, into the distance, "When we were at the beach, before I won the Phoenix Pill from her, she pulled somethin' where she stood on the water. Yer' dad went off on somethin' about a martial arts master bein' able ta' find purchase on any surface, even a stick floten' in the water, but that's bogus. Unless it's a log or somethin', no stick's got enough float to it to hold up anyone, so I knew the Old Ghoul was doin' somethin' funny. The fact that she made a shark out'a water with her ki clued me in even more... Took me till I oversaw yer' sister watchin' one'a her anime's a couple'a weeks ago before I figered' somethin' out that could'a worked."

Up in her room, Nabiki sneezed.

Akane scrunched her face as she tried to remember the events of that day a little over two years ago. The memories were fuzzy, but she did distantly recall that Cologne had stood on the water as she taunted Ranma with the object that would allow him to be able to use hot water to change back into a boy again. "Can you teach me?" she asked hopefully.

Ranma turned to look at her again, even going to the point of using her ki sense in order to better see the girl standing in front of her. She had taken to using her ki sense more often lately. Before Saffron she had only ever used it while in a fight, to better gauge her opponents strengths and weaknesses, and to help see if his taunts were hitting their mark. More recently though, he had been using it when he was talking to someone, and he noticed that, four times out of five, he was able to keep his foot out of his mouth when he was able to read the emotions coming off of the people around him. It even helped him tell when he was being lied to. He was amazed by how often his own father didn't even believe what he was saying, and at the same time how often he believed every word that came out of his ignorant mouth.

Right now Akane was radiating both hope and fear. Her Hope was most definitely meaning that she dearly wanted to learn the technique. Her Fear was a little harder to place its source... the emotion seemed to have a connection to water, but water from two sources. The first source was easy to tell; her inability to swim, or even learn how to swim. Ranma idly mused on why she had never tried her hand in trying to teach the girl who had been given the nickname "the Hammer" because of her ability to swim like one. That is to say, not at all. Eventually she came to the conclusion that Akane had simply never asked her before.

The second source of the fear of water was much more difficult to tell and it seemed similar to her distaste to the random splashes of hot or cold water that plagued her, but it was different from that in that Akane didn't change and, while Ranma simply disliked the change, Akane was feeling fear over it... which didn't make sense considering that Akane didn't have a Jusenkyo curse.

The seconds dragged on and Akane's hope began to fade as Ranma sat there staring at her with a piercing look. She began to fidget under the stare, slowly becoming more and more uncomfortable as time went on. Eventually Ranma delivered her verdict.

"No... Not now." She said in a serious voice.

"What! Why not? Is it because I'm a girl?!" Akane was crushed and a little angry at the denial for training. She had never been outright refused training before. Sure her father had stopped training her after her mother had died, but he had always made some excuse as to why.

"No it's not because you're a girl..." Ranma was choosing her words carefully because she felt the anger in Akane's aura.

"Then WHAT!? Is it because I'm not a Martial Artist Like you?!" Akane was getting really angry now, and Ranma had stood up on the stone she had been sitting on and started backing away over the ground and away from the koi pond.

Still in the same cautious voice, Ranma answered, "Well... It's kinda' like that..." Akane's face clouded over and her battle aura began to manifest. Franticly Ranma continued, "Wait, wait, wait! I didn't mean it like that!"

"Then what did you mean?" came Akane's answer. Her voice was low with menace and her battle aura was building even higher in preparation for beating some sense into her wayward fiancé. Ranma's reply came quickly as she summoned a ball of ki into her palm and held it so that Akane could see.

"Can you do this?" Ranma was sweating. She was over two meters away from Akane, with her back against the compound wall, and she could feel the heat coming off of Akane's aura

"I would be if you would just teach me!" Akane was still angry but it was more or less leveling off. Ranma had presented her with a reason as to why she didn't want to teach her, however thin it may be.

"I have been teaching you, you stupid tomboy, but until you get to where I actually have to block you I can't do much!" now it was Ranma's turn to start to get angry. _Doesn't the tomboy realize that all that dodging is to help her build speed and coordination?_

"What! All you ever do is dodge! How can I hit you if you're moving around all the time!?" Akane's anger had leveled off, at a medium boil.

"That's the point you stupid tomboy! Strength is all well and good, but unless you can hit your opponent, it doesn't mean jack! This is the same concept! You don't know how to control how you project your ki, and I can't teach you until you learn control because that's something you need to figure out on your own! All I can do is try to lead you to control, but as the Americans say 'you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink'! Right now you've only ever shown me that you can project your aura when you're angry! You don't even use your ki when you're breaking your stupid bricks! If you did you'd be able to break twice as many, at least!" Ranma's anger was sitting at a low boil now. She was even forgetting to use macho speak, in favor of more proper Japanese.

Truth be told, Ranma could speak properly whenever he wanted to, but the act was to throw people off. People tended to underestimate you when you sounded like a meat head. "I've spent the last two years trying to correct what you'd been doing wrong for the last ten before I showed up! DO you have ANY idea how hard that is when baka Oyaji would demand that I 'Stop that nonsense immediately' for training a girl if I had ever let on to what I've been doing?! WELL DO YOU?! Not to mention that whenever I even showed the slightest interest in you outside of our sparing sessions those two would go off and sing and dance about how 'The Schools Would Be Joined' and even then they would go off once in a while! I can more or less admit that I like you NOW, but before I fought Saffron I couldn't, and that doesn't make them any less annoying!" Ranma's anger began to deflate. All that yelling had given her a slight headache so she rubbed her palm against her forehead. She froze when she realized exactly what she had just said.

Akane stared at the smaller redhead, wide-eyed, and her anger forgotten. The last time she had heard Ranma vocalize that he even slightly tolerated her had been at Jusendo, when she thought that she heard him shout out that he loved her, and even then, that had been more like a dream, so she couldn't be sure. Ranma had outright denied that he had ever said such a thing, but the way he had said the denial made her think that he was trying to deny it to himself just as much as he was trying to deny it to her. "You have been training me? But that's... That is... That's not... Umm... And what was that about your father... and... and that last bit?"

Ranma visibly deflated. She knew she had said too much. She sighed and motioned for Akane to follow her before walking back to the edge of the pond and sitting back down on the rock. A minute passed before she spoke as Ranma collected her thoughts. "Pops has strange views on women." Akane snorted at this. "No I'm serious! He honestly believes all that crap about girls being weak and stupid and stuff..."

"And what about you?" Akane sat down on another stone next to the pond.

"Me? Well... Uh... I used to think like that..." Ranma turned and looked over the water of the koi pond with a thoughtful look. "When your only role model for the last ten years is someone who looks down on women, cheats and steals on a regular basis, and sold you for food or sake every now and then, you kinda come away with some bad habits. Your sister, Kasumi, actually helped me break most of those... Thing is, there are just too many female martial artists around here for me to ignore them all... Pops is Pops though, and if I ever admitted that to his face I'd get an earful. Even thinking of training a girl is pretty much against everything that he stands for. 'Women are weak and frail and should be protected' he would say and then go off about how I was acting like a girl because I'm training one..."

"Is that why you only ever dodge?" Akane was looking at Ranma in confusion. Things just didn't make sense to her.

"That's part of it... One of the first tenants of our school is misdirection. Make your opponent think that you're doing something that you're not. If no one thought that I was training you then no one would bother me about it." Ranma got a far away look in her eyes and smiled a little, "Heck, in the two years that I've been doing this, I've managed to correct most of the problems in your stance and execution, as well as over tripled your speed and coordination."

Ranma leveled a serious gaze on Akane, "You've got good eyes and instincts Akane... Every time I left an opening for you, you took it, even though I would dodge away before you could tag me. All I needed to do was leave an opening a certain way and you would follow it the way I wanted you to. Do that enough times and it became habit for you to execute a set of moves that way. Thing is, with how Pops is, I couldn't let on at all. I figured that until you were fast enough to hold your own against him, so you could shut him up whenever he would go off, I couldn't drop the act and train you more directly. So it's been slow going."

"Oh..." Things made more sense to Akane now and she was looking thoughtfully out over the pond now. "And what's that about not being able to teach me how to use my ki?"

Ranma snorted, "That's easy. You don't know how to control your ki yet, and until you figure out how, I can't teach you how to channel it. I've been trying to show you how, but so far you only project your aura when you're angry, and as far as I can tell, you've never realized what you were doing. Control isn't something that I can teach you because you have a different center then I do, and you need to find it on your own. I can try to show you how to look for it, but I can't teach you how to actually find it."

"Oh? And what is my center?" Akane wanted to know what Ranma was talking about because she was confused again. All this talk about ki and centers was mostly going over her head.

Ranma sighed. She really didn't want to go here. Telling Akane outright might ruin any chance of her ever being able to use her ki consciously. On the other hand, it might be the last push needed to get her to discover how to manifest her ki whenever she wanted to. She thought for a few minutes, considering how best to tell Akane, "Right now, you channel your ki through your anger. That's what I call your gateway emotion. The only times that you've ever manifested an aura have been when you were angry. When I first used my ki I was being chased by a pack of angry dogs that Pops had set after me. I, ah... accidently managed to jump onto the roof of a nearby house when I was only trying to jump onto a low wall. Took me a week to figure out how I did it, but after I did, I was able to use my ki to make myself faster, stronger, or able to jump higher whenever I wanted to."

Akane's eyes bugged out at hearing more of Genma's insane training techniques. She preyed that she would never have him as an instructor. Something didn't make sense to her though... "What's that supposed to mean? A gateway?"

"The gateway is the first emotion that a person is able to use to channel their ki. Mine was fear because I _really_ didn't want to get mauled by a bunch of dogs back then, but I've since learned how to channel my ki through my body without using an emotion. I only needed confidence for my Moko Takabisha because I'd never learned how to project my ki outside of my body for anything other than a battle aura before, and why I couldn't just use depression like the Shi-Shi-Hokodan uses was because I couldn't bring out a complete manifestation using depression because depression has a frequency that is more or less incompatible with my ki outside of special circumstances... I don't need confidence to use the Moko Takabisha anymore... That's another thing; Using Emotions, while useful for setting the groundwork for ki manipulation, can be dangerous if you do it to much. Use too much and do it to often and it becomes harder and harder to feel any emotion but the one you use to channel your ki... that's why Ryoga was always depressed for a while after he learned the Perfect Shi-Shi-Hokodan..." Ranma figured that since she was in as deep as she was, she may as well go for broke.

"So my gateway is anger because I channel my ki when I'm angry? Is that my center?"

"No... All emotions do, is make it easier to manifest and use your ki. Your center is the feeling behind the emotion. That feeling of... Power... that fills you when you manifest your ki is your center. It's really easy to miss if your emotions are really strong though..."

They sat there in silence for a while. Ranma was mulling over everything she had just said and wondering if she had said to much again while Akane ran the conversation through her head a few times. Things were making much more sense to her now that she knew that Ranma couldn't just come out and train her until he knew she could hold her own in the lower ranks of the arena he fought in regularly. All that stuff about ki and how she manifested hers when she was angry was still a bit confusing, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. It explained why she always felt stronger when she was angry... Maybe this feeling of strength was her center? There was still one thing she needed to know though, and she was both hopeful and terrified of what Ranma's answer might be. "Uh... Ranma?"

"Yes?" Ranma broke from her own musings and looked at Akane. She had answered all of the girl's questions on ki and martial arts so far, so she was wondering what it could be now.

"Um... you said... you said something about... about liking me... did... did you mean that? What you said?" Akane tried to control her emotions, she really did, but she still couldn't keep a hint of fear out of her voice.

Ranma heard the fear. It confused her. _Why would Akane be afraid of me liking her? I thought she would want that..._ "Um... ya... sort of..." came her nervous reply. She felt a spike of emotion in Akane's aura and saw the girl fidget uncomfortably. _There! It's that water-borne fear again! The one I couldn't quite place before... But... She's... She's scared of me? Of my curse?_ "What's... What's wrong Akane?"

Akane just sat there as though she was frozen. Ranma felt conflicting emotions warring through her aura. Fear and happiness battled against each other for dominance. Ranma didn't know anything else to do so she waved her hand in front of Akane's face to try to snap her out of it. "Akane? Come on Akane, you can say it if you like me... Trust me; it gets easier once you admit it to yourself." This turned out to be exactly the wrong thing to say. Suddenly fear won out.

"WHAT! Why would I Like a sex Changing FREAK Like you!" Akane was close to hyperventilating now and she jerked away from Ranma as she shouted. Fear dominated her aura, but Ranma could feel just a hint of denial trying to work its way in. "Why Would I like you when All you ever did Before was Insult me and call me Names and... And... And... Your girl Side? What would People say?!? I mean, How would It be to Walk down the Street and Everyone Knows that I like a Girl and that we're together and... and... What if I didn't..." Akane caught herself and dropped to her knees and curled up into a ball and started shaking.

"Akane? What's... What do you mean?" The hurt in Ranma's voice was obvious. She had never liked her curse. It had always made her an outcast because she couldn't do some of the things she had been able to before, like swim with a pair of trunks instead of a suit. Being a "freak" had been a sore spot she had never voiced to anyone and here Akane had outright called her on it.

Akane had calmed down somewhat, but she was anything but completely calm, far from it actually. She did, however, have her head on straight enough to give an answer, however loudly she shouted it, or quietly it was muttered. "Ever since grade-school, there have been rumors... That I... *Gulp* That I didn't like boys... The Hentai Horde started up at the beginning of high-school and I beat them all while yelling that I hated boys and they got worse! Pretty soon the only friends I had left were Yuka and Sayuri and even THEY would whisper things behind my back when they thought I wasn't listening!"

By this point Akane was starting to cry, "But they were the only ones who stayed! And then YOU came along. This small, frightened looking red haired girl who looked like she hadn't ever had a friend! And I KNEW something was different about you... That you weren't like other people... So I challenged you in the Dojo just to see! And you beat me! And I was glad that you weren't a boy, because of the hentai horde... but at the same time I was a little sad. I didn't know WHY I was sad then! Just that I WAS! And then I accidently walked in on you in the Furo and I was Scared! First the Hentai Horde wanted me, and Now this Strange Boy was in my home and he Had seen Me naked! I... I was... I didn't like it... I didn't like it at all. And then I found out that that boy was the same person as the girl who I had felt a connection to and that somehow we were supposed to be engaged to each other. But I didn't like him... He wasn't the Girl... I... The Hentai horde and Kuno had me hating boys and this Boy in the furo had seen me naked... It didn't matter that that boy was a girl some of the time..."

Akane's breathing was still well above normal, and Ranma hardly needed her ki sense to tell that the girl sitting in the grass in front of her was frightened nearly out of her mind. Words were rolling out of her mouth and she was barely thinking of what she was actually saying, "But... but then... then you walked in on me in the furo later after I had knocked you out with the table... but you were a girl this time... And... And it was different... I knew that you were a boy but for some reason I didn't mind that SHE saw me... I felt that connection again... But then I got angry because I reminded myself that this GIRL was a BOY! She shouldn't see me because SHE was actually a HE! I... I... It grew... over time... the connection I felt to her I mean. But I never felt that bond when she was a He. I could talk to Her more easily than I could talk to Him... I... Liked her more then I liked him. And... and those feelings changed... over time... but never the same for him. He could be a friend... maybe... if he ever got over himself... but her? I felt drawn to her. She was strong and confident and... and... and I knew that I shouldn't think that way! She was a girl... and I'm a girl... and... and..."

Akane trailed off into silence and just sat on the ground with her knees tucked under her chin and silent tears running down her face. She was still breathing heavily but she had managed to calm herself down somewhat, but she didn't realize that she had been rambling or what any of what she had said would mean. Ranma just stared at her wide eyed. There was no lie in her aura, and if what had been implied were true, then... "Akane? Are you saying that you like my girl side but not my guy side?"

"What? NO! Why would I like your girl side, instead of your guy side?" she gave a nervous chuckle and the smile on her face was obviously forced. Fear and denial were mixing in her aura now and Ranma felt her stomach not up. He liked her, he could admit that now, to himself, and he had admitted as much to Akane a few minutes ago. And she liked him, though her admittance had been spoken while in a state where she would have been hard pressed to lie, let alone even know what she was saying. But for whatever reason, she only felt that way for his girl side.

They heard the call of "Tadaima!" from Kasumi and Nodoka, signifying that they had returned from their dinner shopping and the mood was broken. Ranma let out heavy sigh and rubbed her eyes with her hands. "I... I need to go do some things." Ranma said as she started walking towards the house.

Akane just sat there for a few more minutes before getting up and going to the bathroom to wash her face...

* * *

Dinner time came around with the notable absence of Ranma from the proceedings of the consumption of large quantities of food. Genma and Soun were still out, on their pub crawl, so their absence wasn't noted. Nabiki asked Akane about where Ranma was because she had heard shouting earlier. Nodoka sent a questioning look at Akane because it had been months since the two had really gotten into in enough to shout at each other. Akane's subdued mood didn't go unnoticed either. She answered that Ranma had said that he had some things to do and that was all she knew. Nodoka and Nabiki tried to press for more information but she just ignored them and silently finished her food before quietly excusing herself and heading up to her room.

Other then the notable absence of Ranma for the rest of the evening, everything went as it normally did. Nodoka and Kasumi cleaned up the dinner dishes and sat drinking tea before retiring. Nabiki headed back to her room and locked herself inside. A small black pig with a yellow and black bandana wandered through the dark house for a few minutes before turning a corner and promptly vanishing.

Genma and Soun stumbled in some time around midnight, having eventually been thrown out of every pub they had visited and not feeling up to moving further outside of their normal area of exploration in search of more alcohol. They wandered into the dining room and promptly dived into Soun's emergency liquor stash only to pass out at the table a few minutes later.

* * *

It was the morning of the next day. The sun was just coming over the horizon and the birds were singing. Kasumi was sitting on the engawa sipping her morning tea and enjoying the fresh morning air while looking out over the koi pond. The Fathers were still passed out, but she had moved them earlier so that they would be more comfortable. Eventually she finished her tea and headed to the kitchen to start breakfast.

Nabiki came downstairs for her morning cups of coffee. Her first cup was sitting on the table in its usual place. She sat and drank it while staring blankly over the yard through the haze of sleep and finished it before figuring that she should just make a whole pot for herself, seeing as she had been up late last night balancing her accounts, and headed to the kitchen. When she returned to the dining room, her pot of coffee in hand, she noticed something was different about the room right away, but she was still to groggy to be able to tell what. Half a pot later and she was coherent enough to notice what had changed. When she had come down, there was nothing on the table except for her cup of coffee. Now though, there were eight envelopes sitting on the table. Seven arranged in a circle, each with one of their names written on it, and the eighth sitting in the center, addressed "To the Tendos and Saotomes". Curious, she set down her coffee and opened and read the middle one. She read it again. She read it a third time, but more slowly, making sure that she read every word correctly. "KASUMI!!!" She yelled out, "Family meeting! NOW!"

---End Chapter 2---

* * *

End Notes (and maybe a tangent or two...): Ok... Chapter two = done for now... I may, Someday... Come back and rewrite this whole fic but who knows. I doubt it though... More happened in this chapter overall then in chapter one, but I'm still winding up so bear with me...The acutal Cross with Assassins Creed probably won't come until a few chapters from now and that's when things will probably really pick up...

Ranma and OOC? I don't know... it's been three months since the failed wedding... that's enough time to change a little bit at least. Especially if you have Kasumi coaching you... Over all though, In the manga, there are sparse times, though few and VERY far between, where Akane and Ranma have actually managed to hold a conversation with each other without coming to shouts and mallets (Actually Akane's more prone to use what's handy... like a chair or desk or stone statue or something...).

Akane and liking Ranma-chan but not Ranma-kun? I don't exactly know where I was going with this whole thing... I needed something to get Ranma to think about the state of things in his/her life and this seemed like a decient gateway to that... Also I had the evil idea of wondering what it would be like for a Homophobic Lesbian and I needed to have Akane blow up about something... I don't know... I may go more into this in later chapters but at the moment I don't think we'll see very much of the NWC until much, MUCH, later, and as Chapter one suggests, Ranma won't be directly involved with them, or if he is, he'll be disguised somehow.

(Oh... and Leave a review if it takes your fancy...)


	3. Chapter 3: Goodbye

Disclaimer: See top of chapter one...

Beginning Notes: So... Tired... I've been typing for at least half of my waking hours for the last three days and Chapter Three is finally complete! Mwahahahaha! Ehem... It's a little longer than the last two chapters but I don't really think that that's a bad thing.

**Dragonfly**

**By: Almech Alfarion (Child of Fire)**

Chapter 3: Goodbye...

---The Previous Evening---

Darkness was falling on Nerima. Ranma had walked up to his room in a daze, not even noticing when he made a side stop in the bathroom for some hot water. The revelations of the past hours had been shocking to him. His thoughts were on the girl that he loved as he sat on his futon and stared out of the window as the sun went down. He worked his way through the problem as he sat there and slowly came to a realization, and with it came a plan; something that he had been tempted to do for some time now, but hadn't had a real reason to, until now.

He sat there for a while more, thinking of how he was going to carry out his plan without anyone getting in his way or trying to talk him out of it; not even noticing when Kasumi had called upstairs for supper. Darkness had completely fallen by the time he knew what he needed to do.

Paper and ink were spread out over the floor as he worked. Fourteen letters in total, one for the Amazons as a group, one for Cologne, Mousse, and Shampoo as individuals, and one for the whole family, for each of the family members, Happosai, Ukyou and Ryoga. He spent hours working on them; making sure that the wording was right. It was midnight by the time he finished with them all. He wasn't finished with the ink yet however.

Pulling over a blank scroll, he began to do something that he only did on occasion, seeing as most of his techniques were developed by himself, for himself. But he owed this one last favor to Akane. She needed training, and his plan would take part of that away from her regardless of what he did, but she was already largely self taught, so this wasn't much of a stretch from what she knew. If all went well, he would be there to point out her mistakes when she needed it.

The blue black of night was starting to fade into predawn light when he finally put the brush down and rolled up the last completed scroll and put it into his safe place. There was only one thing left to do before leaving the letters where someone would find them. His pack already had the essentials that he would need to survive for a couple weeks so he only needed to gather up the rest of his belongings and put them in and he would be ready.

The sun was just peeking over the horizon as he set his pack next to the door. It bulged a little despite the modified stuff space compartment he had made for the contents. There was one last thing he needed before he was ready, and due to its nature, he wasn't able to put it into his own stuff space. Rolling up his futon and putting it in the corner of the room, Ranma lifted the tatami mat that had been under it. Underneath it was a hidden chamber he had made some time ago so he could store things without his father or Nabiki knowing. Ever since he had copied the hidden weapons technique from Mousse and converted it into "stuff space" it had seen very little use. The only thing inside was a black box, a little over a meter in length, which he removed before moving the mat back into its place. No one knew that he had this. Even he didn't understand how he had gotten it out of china without everyone knowing about it on their return after he had beaten Saffron. Carefully, he undid the latches on one of the long edges and opened it so that it lay flat on the floor. The Gekkaja with its crescent blade and the Kinjakan with its bladed ring each lay fastened into one of the sides of the case, gleaming with a steely blue and coppery red respectively, though by no means actually made from such base materials. The keys of ascension, two of the most powerful artifacts he knew of, lay before him. He could feel the heat and cold coming off of the artifacts before he removed them from the case and strapped them to the outside of his pack.

He had heard Nabiki go downstairs as he was doing this and so he waited a few minutes before leaving the room with all of his belongings on his back. Quietly sneaking downstairs, he was almost tempted to stay when he smelled the heavenly scents coming from the kitchen as Kasumi made breakfast, but he firmed his resolve. He needed to do this, and so did everyone else. Moving quietly, he headed to the dining room where he left the letters for the family and Happosai. Now he needed to mail off the letter to Ryoga, and leave the letters for the Amazons and Ukyou somewhere where they would find them.

Still moving quietly, he headed for the door. He needed to hurry, because if he didn't then someone might catch him, and that was the last thing he needed...

* * *

---Present---

Through the efforts of Nabiki and Kasumi, everyone was roused quickly. Happosai had been in the area on a panty patrol and noticed the activity in the Tendo home and decided to see what this was all about and joined in. They all sat around the dining room table, wondering what would have made Nabiki call a family meeting so early in the morning. Nabiki was still the only one who knew about the letters, seeing as she had gathered them all up after she had called out, not wanting whatever they might say to offset how she planned on handling the situation. Not even Kasumi had seen the first letter.

She was still running over what she was going to say through her head when a groggy and somewhat hung over Genma summed up everyone's thoughts rather crudely. "What the heck's going on? Why do we need a family meeting at this Kami forsaken hour in the morning?"

Nabiki just leveled a hooded stare at him before clearing her throat and beginning by holding up the letter addressed to the family for everyone to see. "Something happened recently that affects everyone here... Something that I believe should be addressed as quickly as possible..."

"What is that" Asked a hung over Soun before wincing slightly at the noise of his voice.

Nabiki began to pace, still not knowing how she should do this. "I hold," She lifted the letter again for everyone to see, "a letter from Ranma... It's addressed to all of us as a group." Curious stares regarded her as she glanced at the letter.

"What's it say" Akane asked.

"Yes... What were my Sons words that would cause you to worry like you are." was Nodoka's response. Nabiki was surprised at this. She was _sure_ that she had her best Ice Queen face on. But then... Nodoka had been living at their home for some time and was probably more observant than she let on, much like Kasumi.

Nabiki let out a breath of air she had been holding and decided to drop her mask a little and rub her eyes. This was not going as planned, though the fact that she had only had a few minutes to plan had probably leant to this problem. She cleared her throat and began to read...

_To the Tendo and Saotome families:_

_I'm not quite sure how to say this... Heck this is my fifth attempt at trying to write this, so I'll just say it and be as honest as I possibly can. _

_I. Am. Leaving._

_There it is as clear as I can think of how to say it. I don't know if I'll ever be back. I _will _try to see you all again one day. But I need some space. And so do all of you._

_This is not a rushed decision. In truth I've been thinking about doing something like this since before I fought Herb. I just haven't had a good enough reason for myself until a conversation I had with someone recently._

_My reason is this. We need space from each other. All of you from me I mean. We have issues. I'm no exception and I seem to make more problems the longer I stay in one place. So I'm leaving, if only for a while. Maybe a few months, maybe a year or two, I don't know. I just need some time to sort out my life without all of the brow beating and pressure right over my head. Hopefully I can outrun the chaos for a little while before it catches up to me._

_In regards to the fears of the fathers and their dreams of "Uniting the Schools"... Don't worry; I'm not dissolving the pact between the families. I'm not planning on dissolving any of the other commitments I have at the moment either, but hopefully, by the time I get back I will have more of an Idea on how to handle this mess and still have everyone's Honor intact. All that this will do is indefinitely postpone the formalities._

_Now, I'm hoping that this was the first letter that all of you read. Because the other seven letters I left on the table with this one are a more personal goodbye to all of you. I may write and I may not. I'll see when it happens, but I plan on taking a leaf out of Ryoga's book and just get lost. I don't know where I'll end up or where my journey will take me, but hopefully I'll find what I feel is missing in my life, and maybe you will find what is missing in your lives, if you are missing anything that is..._

_I've also left letters for the Amazons, and Ukyou in places where they will find them, and I've mailed one off for Ryoga. If he shows up before he gets it, please tell him what's going on and that he has a letter from me as well._

_Until we meet again;_

_Ranma Saotome_

_P.S. Don't try to follow me. By the time you read this I'll be as far away as I can be and I have something that will help me move faster than I can just on foot. Also I have the Umi-sen-ken to use incase I need to _really _disappear for a while._

Silence reigned in the dining room for a few moments before Kasumi tentatively asked "Nabiki, where are the other letters?"

Nabiki reached into her pocket and pulled the other seven letters out and passed them to the people they were addressed to, "I didn't want to risk anyone reading whatever is in these before the first letter was read." She kept the last one, seeing as it was addressed to her. As one, everyone opened their letters and began to silently read. Nabiki was no exception...

_Nabiki:_

_I hope the news of my leaving hasn't upset too many things at home, but it had to be done... I wanted to save this for something else but seeing as I'm leaving, I'm not going to need it as much as you will. Remember that 58,274 yen I still owe you? Look in your shoes... We should be even with this. And in case you're wondering how I kept that much money from you; Even I'm not really sure how I did it but I got some nice tips from working on and off at the Nekohanten and Ucchan's over the summer._

_Have a nice life and I hope you find the piece of your soul you're missing by the time I get back._

_Ranma_

All Nabiki could do was stare at the note in her hands... She could almost feel Ranma's resentment as he had written the last sentence. No goodbye for her. No last words. Just a note saying that he had paid his debts and left... _A piece of my soul? Have I really fallen that far in the eyes of the people around me?_

Tears were fighting to come forward as she sat, contemplating on where her life was taking her...

* * *

Soun was sitting at the head of the table, trying to take it all in... Ranma had left. Sure he had said that he would come back some day, but that didn't change anything in the here and now. His dream of the Dojo reopening under Ranma was beginning to crumble... Nabiki passed him the letter addressed simply "To Soun". He looked at it for a moment, wondering what Ranma had written to him, before opening the envelope and beginning to read...

_To Soun:_

_I guess this is goodbye for now. But this had to be done. Just some things that I want to tell you though._

_Grow up. There, I said it. I've wanted to say it for a while now. No one cares about your eternal pity party. You also call yourself a martial artist but I've never seen you practice the art, and every time you've been faced with a challenge, you have either forced it off onto someone else or run away. _

_From what I can tell, you were once well respected by the community. I don't really know why. I've never seen the man that the rumors talk about._

_Another thing. For all your talk of "Joining the schools" I have never seen any evidence that you were more proactive than pops, with all of the times he's sold me off to someone for food or sake. You may not think so, but from what I can tell the overall goal is that the Heir between the families would learn both families' styles from me and Akane. There's just one problem with that. Akane only knows the basics of the Tendo style. You haven't held up your end of the bargain so far because you quit training her years ago. She's been trying to teach herself for years now but she has a lot of ground to make up still if she is ever to realize her full potential. Start training her soon or I may be forced to call the deal off because of this when I get back._

_Ranma_

Shock... That was all Soun felt as he finished reading the note... Being a master of the art, once upon a time, he was sensitive to Ki and the note was saturated with it. He could see the frown on Ranma's face as he had read this. Feel that Ranma had been using the Soul of Ice to some degree, in order to control his disappointment at him as he had written the note.

He re-read the note, making sure that he understood what had been said. Tears tried to force their way to the surface, and succeeded to some degree, but the river that he normally delivered never came.

_I am disgraced... and yet, he gives me a second chance..._ He looked over at his youngest daughter who was blankly staring at her note... _Perhaps... it is time that I try again...

* * *

_

Kasumi was worried. Ranma had been the corner-stone keeping much of the chaos of the area under control. With him gone, she wasn't sure what would happen. She quietly took the note from Nabiki as it was handed to her and opened it, wondering what Ranma would have to say to her...

_Deer Kasumi:_

_There is so much I want to thank you for, but I need time to write the other letters also._

_First and foremost, though, thank you for being my friend. Maybe even the older sister that I never had growing up. Your kitchen was a place of piece in the never ending chaos that is my life and I thank you for all of the times that we just sat and talked. You helped me get over some of my worse habits with your advice. I didn't realize until recently, but none of us really realize what you do for us... Unless Akane is in the kitchen anyways. There is allot more, but I'm running out of paper and I want to say some other things too..._

_You deserve more than just taking care of everyone around you. Do something for yourself for a change. Go out and shop, eat ice-cream, SOMETHING. Just do it for yourself. Kami-sama knows you deserve it. I think that there is a certain doctor who needs to be brought to his senses too. My advice; Give him an Amazon Tackle Glomp and don't let go until he stops twitching._

_Your Friend (Or is that little brother?);_

_Ranma_

By the time she had finished, Kasumi was smiling, just as she felt that Ranma had been smiling as he had written it. _He thought of me as a sister?_ Suddenly her fears of what would become of everything in Ranma's absence seemed minor. She looked out over her family. Yes... It was time that she started to live again. Her father seemed to be pulling himself together, seeing the stern look on his face as he looked at Akane and fought back his tears, Nabiki was definitely capable of taking care of herself, and Akane was getting to an age where she needed to learn to be more independent.

_Amazon Tackle Glomp? I wonder...

* * *

_

Nodoka was troubled. Her manly son had left. Run away so to speak. But at the same time, he had given his reasons, however vague, and an almost promise that he would be back someday. The letter he wrote had said that he had needed time to think some things over. She didn't really understand why he couldn't have done it here. His life may be a bit hectic most of the time, but surely her manly son was strong enough to handle it.

She silently accepted the letter addressed to her from Nabiki and began to read...

_Mother:_

_It is somewhat regrettable that I found it necessary to leave, if only for a while. _

_When we first met all those months ago, you as "Aunty Nodoka" and me as "Ranko Tendo", I was unsure of how you would take my curse. I cannot describe the relief I felt when you declared that I had satisfied the contract, but I couldn't help but feel that you had not quite let go of it yourself._

_Even after, you continually spoke of how I was "So Manley", even in my cursed form, and I couldn't help but think that there was something wrong. Were you reaffirming that I had satisfied the contract? I don't know. But I can't help but be a bit worried about how you seem to have defined "Manley" in the past, considering the circumstances of when you would usually say this. I can't help but think that if I had truly fit how you seem to define "Manley", I would make Happosai look like a saint._

_I can't do that. No multiple wives and no mistresses... Period... Akane is the only girl out of the major commitments in my life who I could even consider being with, and even then, We. Are. To. Young. Yes, we are both eighteen now and old enough to legally marry with parental consent, but we both still have some problems that we need to work out before something like that could ever work._

_So this is my farewell to you. I hope that when I return, that we could start over._

_Your Son;_

_Ranma Saotome_

Nodoka was now confused... Her son thought that she wanted him to be like that perverted gnome of a man? Preposterous! But then... All she had wanted were grandbabies... lots and lots of grandbabies... A wistful look came over her face until she realized why her son had said he would have been like Happosai... her face fell into a slightly pained expression... How does one get grandbabies? And how had she tried to speed up the process in the past? She saw the points and connected the dots and realized that if Ranma had turned out to be "Manley" with his admirers to make her grandbabies, he would have been worse than Happosai and his fetish with women's underwear. She imagined how others would have viewed him, and what it would have done to his honor, which she knew was very important to him...

Her musings were her whole world, as she went over her past. Trying to figure out where exactly she had gone wrong...

* * *

Genma was sitting next to his wife, deep in thought... That ungrateful boy had run, and left him behind on top of that. Now he was stuck here, left to the wolves, so to speak, with all of the boys problems still around. With the boy gone, the debt collectors would come after him instead, and as the boys renown in Nerima grew it had become harder and harder to push the bills off onto him. Now he wasn't even around, so he might actually have to PAY his tab at the bar.

He hadn't even taken Akane with him, so they could get closer together and finally marry each other so he could comfortably retire... Not that he didn't love his son... He just had other priorities besides making his son into the best fighter of his generation. A note was shoved under his nose and he snorted. Why did the boy need these notes? Why couldn't he have just told them that he was leaving in person and be done with it... then he could have "convinced" his son to change his mind. Seeing nothing better to do at the moment, he tore open the envelope and began to read...

_Hya Pops:_

_You're probably upset that I left but look at it this way; I'm basically applying the Saotome Final Technique to my life. Run away, think about how to handle the situation, and either keep running or turn around once you have a plan. After all, it isn't like you haven't done this plenty of times before and left me to fend off the mob of angry villagers you pissed off. Well, now it's your turn. Let's see how you like it._

_Ranma_

Genma grumbled... Being a Master of his Art, much as Soun had once been a master of his, Genma was also sensitive to the Ki that saturated the note. He could clearly see that insufferable smirk of his son's in the note. He crumpled up the piece of paper and began to plan how he could bring his son back and make him see the error of his ways.

He looked over at Soun, to see if he would help, but he noticed the look on his friends face as he looked at his son's Fiancée... _No help there... If he's thinking what I think he's thinking then he'll be to busy _trying _to train that girl for the next while... Guess I'll have to do this on my own...

* * *

_

Akane sat stone faced after the letter had been read out for the family. _A conversation with someone? Does he mean what happened last night? I don't even remember much of what I said after he told me that it would get easier if I just admit my feelings to myself... Not that I DO care for the Baka... he's a jerk and a pervert. But still... _Thoughts of a confident and strong red-haired girl flashed through her mind, but were quickly stamped out. A note addressed to her by name was handed to her, which she took and quietly opened and began to read...

_Hello Akane:_

_I wish that things could have been different between us. All the mistakes that both of us made... But that's the past, and as they say, "Hindsight is 20/20"..._

_I just want you to know one thing above everything else._

_I love you._

_It took me a while to realize it, but I think I've loved you ever since we met that first day that I came to your home and you asked me if I wanted to be your friend. I think that we're still too young to get married though._

_Don't blame yourself for me leaving. It was my choice. I don't think that you even remember much of what you told me in your panic. But I do know that what you said was not a lie. Even without your knowing it, you told me everything I needed to know, and so here we are. I'm leaving to think about how to try to solve the problems in my life, and I would suggest that in my absence, you think over your thoughts and feelings about me without my presence confusing you even more. I know how you really feel. But I don't think that you do yet. Don't worry, I can wait._

_The only thing that I really regret about this whole plan of mine is that I won't be able to continue your training in person. In his letter, I've asked your father to start training you again, and I think I gave him a significantly good enough threat where he would do it, even if he doesn't pull himself together. But there are some things that he doesn't know about that I would have liked to teach you; Advanced Ki manipulation techniques that I came up with myself and things like that, even some variations on the Amazon techniques that I've made. After all, The Old Ghoul only said that I couldn't teach the techniques she taught me. She said nothing about any variations or advancements I make using them though._

_If you look in the cupboard under the window sill in my room, you will find a box. It's my last parting gift to you. It has a modified stuff space compartment with over fifty technique scrolls inside. The big one with the white tie is a list of the scrolls with the order that I would recommend you try to learn them in and instruction on some basic meditation and exercise techniques that I think help build ki faster without much effort and some pointers on finding your center without needing to be chased by a pack of dogs. I don't know if they will work, but I've heard of some monks who learned to access their Ki through meditation or other methods without using a "Gateway Emotion". I don't really know how it's done though, so you're still on your own for the most part. _

_Make sure that you master a scroll completely before moving onto the next one. The order is designed to help you increase the level of control you have over your ki as your reserves build from learning and mastering them. Green ties mean that it's a technique for controlling Ki within your body, while red ties mean that it's external projection, like the Moko Takabisha or that water walking technique I showed you. What ever you do, DO NOT try to learn what is in the scrolls tied with black until you have learned all of the others. These Techniques are extremely dangerous to the user if you mess up and require a level of control that I feel you won't have until you complete all of the others. Most of the Ki adept monks I met on the training trip with pops preached control over power, while our families' styles seem to have a focus on power over control, which leads to massive Ki reserves, but leaves the control aspect to be desired. But if you don't have that fine control, you can really hurt yourself if you mess up when using an advanced technique and all of that power becomes useless when you lack that fine control or if you exhaust yourself because you're using more power than you need to._

_Keep up your training tomboy, because by the time I get back I want to have to block you at least twice out of every three punches you throw._

_Goodbye, and remember that I love you;_

_Ranma Saotome_

Akane just blankly stared at the letter in her hands. There it was... In writing even... Ranma had said that he loved her. Akane had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, she was overjoyed that Ranma loved her, but on the other, she was terrified about what these feelings meant and how they were directed towards the pig-tailed martial artist. _I'm so confused... Is this the real reason why he left? It does say that he left so that I could sort out how I really feel about all of this without him around... Do I really like him? Or is it more complex than that?_

And then there was the second part of the letter... Somewhere in the room upstairs, there was a box with a veritable gold mine of martial arts techniques inside. Over fifty scrolls it had said, and they were all for her... Ki techniques that apparently had a hierarchy from beginner to super advanced, if the comment about the scrolls with black ties was to be trusted, and she had no reason to distrust Ranma when it came to martial arts... After the first part of her conversation with him the previous evening, she believed that Ranma at least knew what he was talking about when it came to Ki and martial arts and if he said that she could hurt herself by attempting to use a technique before she was ready, she would listen.

A warm feeling filled her stomach when she realized the other part of the gift... The note had said that he had come up with them. That meant that all or most of the techniques were from Ranma's personal style, and what it meant that he was sharing this part of himself with her.

She continued to stare at the note in her hands, wondering what new heights she would be able to reach with the techniques in the scrolls, and if her father would actually begin to train her again, as the note had said he had asked him to...

* * *

Happosai sat at the table with everyone else as they read their letters from Ranma. The moment he had touched the letter for him, he had sensed the boy's ki in it and had reached out with his senses to see if the other letters were as saturated as his seemed to be...

They were, and he could see the effects on the people around him as they read the letters. _Incredible... I'm not even sure that Ranma is aware of what he has done._ He watched for a few more minutes as Ranma's ki seemed to reach out and mix with the ki of the people reading the letters. _This level of Ki manipulation is almost unheard of. And he seems to have done it without even being aware of what he was doing._ As they read, Ranma's ki interacted with theirs and impressed his emotions and feelings on them. He could see the confidence in Soun growing by the second, despite the stronger feelings of disappointment he could feel being directed at his disciple from the letter, because Ranma's whole aura had been forged into his cocky confidence over the past two years. The affect on Kasumi was nothing but astonishing. Mischief and pride was the name of the game here. Nodoka seemed to grow insecure, unconsciously mirroring the way that her son always seemed unsure of himself where his mother was concerned. The only person who seemed unaffected was his other disciple, Genma; probably because the ki in his letter almost perfectly matched the signature of Ranma's aura whenever they fought.

The old pervert was impressed. To do something like this to writing was something that every true martial arts master needed to be able to do. It allowed them to write technique scrolls that allowed a student to be self taught more easily, because the writing would instill the motions and thoughts necessary to learn it into the student.

Finally picking up his letter again, he primed his senses to ward off the influence of Ranma's ki as he began to read...

_Hey Ya old goat._

_Now I don't know if you'll be around when everyone else finds out, so I'll tell you what's going on._

_I've left Nerima, and I don't know when I'll be back. My reasons are my own, but you'll probably hear something about me needing some space to think._

_Just do me a favor while I'm gone and lay off on the panty stealing a bit at least, OK? And besides, you steeling underwear isn't exactly what a martial artist should do... we're here to protect those people. Not take things that don't belong to us..._

_Hoping you keep out of trouble;_

_Ranma_

Happosai was impressed. The Ki in the letter was putting up a mighty fight against his own defenses, but being something done by accident, the ki in the letter was no match for the defensive mind techniques that Happosai employed. _Interesting... Keep out of trouble he says. *Short* What does the boy take me for? That's the best part of my week! But still... _He looked back at the letter, which assaulted his defenses again. _This level of Ki manipulation is almost unheard of... Even I can barely do it... but for him to do it by accident?_

_Perhaps it is time that I start to _really _train the boy when he gets back...

* * *

_

In another part of the ward, The Amazons sat around one of the tables at the Nekohanten. They had not opened the shop yet, and probably wouldn't open it today. Earlier that morning, they had found four letters on one of the tables in the main dining room arranged in a similar manner to those that were left at the Tendo's. Cologne had quickly checked for signs of forced entry but found none. There were only a few people she knew of who could break in and get back out with such efficiency and not set off any of her anti burglary wards and of them, only two of them would probably try to steal something and neither of them were very likely to leave a note behind, so she decided that the letters were probably safe. That didn't stop her from checking them for traps though. Just as Happosai, Cologne had sensed the ki in them immediately. Only the one addressed to all of them didn't seem to have anything.

They had just finished reading a similar letter to the one addressed to the Tendo and Saotome Families and Mousse and Shampoo now looked on as Cologne had her eyes closed and her hands extended over the personal notes in an attempt to dispel the Ki in them because she didn't want it to affect her charges.

This was her third attempt at this. The first two had only succeeded in marginally dispersing some of the Ki, but due to the chaotic nature of the accidental Ki infusion with the ink, it was difficult to unravel the bindings that held it in place. This time was different though. She wasn't trying to disperse the Ki. Merely seal it so that it wouldn't influence whoever read the letters.

Shampoo was fidgeting greatly as she watched. Cologne had forbidden her from leaving to go after Ranma until after they had read the personal letters from him. Like the other group letter, theirs had said not to try to follow him. Cologne didn't know what this faster than foot means of transport was, but she doubted that Ranma knew how to drive, so that left an artifact of some kind and she didn't want her great granddaughter to go without more information. "Great Grandmother, when can we read letters so I can go find Airen?"

"Patience child... I am nearly done." came from the Matriarch. It was the truth too, because as she said this, her sealing technique finished and she handed her charges the letters addressed to them.

Taking up her own letter, the aging matriarch began to read...

_Hey, Old Ghoul:_

_I bet you're all kinds of curious about the "Real" reason I left. Well to bad because I'm not telling. I will be thinking some things over though. I managed to get my hands on one of your tribal law books and I'll be looking for a loophole to get me out of it that _doesn't _leave me as some kind of warrior maiden or something..._

_But I didn't write this just to rub that in your face. There are some things that I would like to tell you. You were one of the best martial arts senseis I've ever had and I think I owe you this at least; though I can't forget that you always had an agenda whenever you taught me something new._

_If the first note didn't convince you not to follow me, then maybe this will. If I know you, and I think I do well enough for this, you squeezed every detail of what happened in china with the Phoenix that you could out of Shampoo and Mousse. If they were telling everything, then you've probably heard about a certain pair of keys that were used in that last big fight against saffron. Well I still have them and I will use them if I have to. While I'm gone, I want to be left alone by everyone in the wrecking crew and I'm prepared to do what I have to, to get that. Now as far as I know, no one else knows that I have the keys, so I would appreciate it if you would keep this between us, OK?_

_One last thing before I finish this letter though. I don't love your Great Granddaughter. We could maybe be friends someday, but what happened at the wedding incident killed that for now. I also can't forget that she chased me across China and Japan for three months in an attempt to kill me when she thought I was a girl. Stuff like that doesn't leave a very good impression on someone._

_See you around;_

_Ranma Saotome_

A smile flashed across Cologne's face. She felt honored to have had the opportunity to teach the boy. Her smile quickly faded though as she realized the poorly veiled threat in the letter. The boy had the Kinjakan and the Gekkaja... and he said that he would be willing to use them if push came to shove... This could be a problem. Add on top of that the fact that he had beaten Saffron, a feat that she believed she could only have performed if she pushed herself beyond her limits and started draining years from her already extended lifespan. And if he did have the keys, she felt that her only hope of defeating Ranma and forcing him to come back to china with them was if he never realized the true power of the staves...

The question now was did she follow him? With the resources available to her, she could easily follow the energy signature given off by the staves even in their inactive state. But with the boy's threat...

She needed time to consider her options. Her Great Granddaughter might be a problem though... she might go after Ranma even if she forbade the girl to...

* * *

Shampoo was impatient... She wanted to chase after her Airen and convince him to choose her, now that the other girls were probably out of the picture. They couldn't track as fast as she could and that would give her the advantage. If she found him first, it would give her that much more time alone with him and he would see reason by the time the others caught up to them. Her great grandmother passed her the note for her and she began to read. Surely this was a declaration of his love for her...

_Shampoo:_

_I don't know how you do it in China, but in Japan 'no' means 'no'. Don't you get it that I don't love you? Friends? Maybe we could have been before what happened at the wedding, but after what you tried to do to Akane I don't know anymore. Now ask yourself; do you really love me? Or is it just your messed up laws that tell you that?_

_Right now, I just want to be left alone. Follow me and you won't like what happens._

_Ranma_

She didn't understand... How could her airen _not_ love her? She was clearly the best choice. She was more feminine and a better fighter than the Kitchen Destroyer. She could cook better too, not that that took much... Spatula girl could cook also, but she hid her femininity with those awful bindings, she had tried it once, just to see what it was about and had hurt her chest. And she was still a better fighter than the spatula girl. Crazy ribbon girl didn't count.

_I've got it! Airen is playing hard to get! Ok! I'll play along and wait a few days before going after him... _A happy smile came over her face as fantasies of her airen filled her head.

* * *

Mousse was ecstatic. His rival, the cur and enemy of women, Saotome, had run away. Finally the lovely Shampoo would be his. Now he just needed to figure out how to get the purple haired girl to notice him... He noticed a piece of paper being handed to him by the old monkey woman and he took it wondering what it was, not having paid attention to the first letter after it had said that Ranma had left. He recognized it as another letter but something was off. It was all fuzzy. Then he realized that his glasses were perched on top of his head.

Wondering what whoever had written to him wanted to tell him, he put his glasses on the right way, and began to read...

_Hello Mousse:_

_Just want you to know something. Not that you'll listen anyway._

_I don't want Shampoo. You can have her for all I care. From what I can tell, all you need to do for her to acknowledge you as a suitor is to defeat her in combat right? Want a tip on why I think you can't do this? Well here it is anyway. _

_You focus to much on quantity and not enough on quality I think. Master of _Hidden _weapons, yes; Master of all those weapons as they are _meant _to be used, defiantly not. As far as I can tell the only things that you're really good with are your throwing knives and your chains. Otherwise, you seem to rely mostly on luck to hit your opponent._

_Maybe if you train in proficiency for all those weapons you use, you'll be able to take Shampoo off my back? Please?_

_Ranma Saotome_

Mousse was confused now. Why would Ranma give him a tip on how to win Shampoo's heart? And then there was that part about his rival not wanting shampoo. How could he not? She was all over him whenever he was around.

But still, the advice about fighting seemed sound enough. Why would a rival tell someone to get better in an area where they saw a weakness? Quantity over quality? Was this why he had never beaten Shampoo or the Saotome? Or was it just a ploy to lure him away from his true goal...

Deep in thought, Mousse wondered if it was time that he changed his training regiment or not...

* * *

Soft crying sounds could be heard in the Ucchan's across town. Not having the benefit of a Ki master like Cologne to disperse or seal off the ki, and lacking the knowledge of the mental techniques Happosai had access to, she was hit with the effects of Ranma's Ki Writing full force. The restaurant hadn't opened yet, and much like the Nekohanten, probably wouldn't for the day.

Ukyou sat behind the counter, crying. Konatsu had appeared by her side the moment she had broken down after reading her letter and was still trying to comfort her. He wanted to know who had written the letter clenched in his mistress' hand so he could punish them for making her cry, but every time he tried to get a good enough look to read it, Ukyou moved it so that he couldn't see.

Tears streamed down her face as Ukyou re-read the letter again...

_Ukyou:_

_I'm leaving Nerima to give myself some space from my life so I can think things out more easily. I don't know when I'll be back. I just have some things that I want to tell you. Things that I've told you before, but you've never seamed to listen, so maybe if you read it you'll finally understand._

_You are my best friend Ucchan. That's all you have ever been to me though. I love you, but as a friend, or maybe even as a sister, and I can't marry my sister. But at the same time I'm disappointed in you. I learned from Nabiki that it was Shampoo who convinced you to do what you did during the wedding, but that still doesn't excuse your actions completely. You tried to use live explosives on Akane, and I'm not talking about fire crackers. You could have killed her you know._

_I hope you understand. And I hope that when I get back we can find a solution that leaves both of us with our honor. But I can't marry you._

_Your childhood friend hoping that we can be friends again some day;_

_Ranma Saotome_

The tears renewed themselves when she finished and she crumpled the already severally wrinkled letter into a ball. _Why Ranchan? Why? I'm the cute one, remember? Just a friend? Is that all I am to you?_ She thought over the events of the last few months... She had carried on as she had before he had run off to China, and it had gotten her no closer to her goal. In fact, it wasn't until she looked back, that she noticed the altered behavior between Ranma and Akane... How Akane had seemed to distance herself from Ranma after the wedding incident, but still kept close enough to him where her claim to the pig-tailed martial artist still seemed valid... How Ranma seemed to try to distance himself from everyone except Akane... and sometimes he seemed like he was trying to get closer to the short haired girl, but never with enough effort where he could be mistaken for making advances... Even the times that he had worked part time as a waitress at the Ucchan's over the summer, Ranma hadn't talked much beyond taking the orders and giving them to her. Usually the red-haired girl would take breaks to talk with her during the slow hours whenever she worked.

_Ok... so I messed up once._ Her thoughts turned to the events that had crashed the attempted wedding for Ranma and Akane. _I messed up big time... But why? Why don't you love me when I've shown you that I love you? What does she have that I don't?_

The soft sobs continued as the Okonomiyaki Chef finally started to let go of the delusion that the man she had been chasing after for the last twelve years of her life would never be hers...

* * *

The sun was climbing high into the sky above the countryside north of Tokyo. Wind blew through the trees around a clearing and some small forest animals foraged for food in the bushes. Then a tanuki perked up and its ears twitched towards the south. It made a signal to the other animals and in a flash, the clearing empted as a low humming came from the south and got louder.

Within minutes, a man with a rather large pack on his back, a pig-tail hair style, and Chinese style clothing tore through the clearing, appearing to be riding on some kind of pole with a flaming ring on the bottom. Ranma was using the Kinjakan's power to move across the countryside and away from Nerima as fast as possible. It wasn't much faster than he could run when using his Ki, but the added bonus was that he didn't get tired and he didn't need to slow down when moving up hill or circumventing large obstacles. He just flew over them as he went.

His plan from here was simple; Get as far away from Nerima and the people there as possible, while leaving as little trace of his passing as possible. Then find a city along the eastern coast and stow away on a ship headed across the ocean for the Americas because he figured that no one would think that he would go there. It was a mess in the states. Whenever he had heard something about them in recent years, it had always been something bad, like the employment rate being at an all time low, or refugees fleeing across the southern boarder into Mexico. But his English was passable, and though not as good as his Chinese, he figured that it was good enough to get by on. Not to mention that he wanted to stay as far away from China as he could, considering that if the Amazons _did_ track him there, it would make it all that much easier to drag him back to their village.

It was the first part of his plan that was tricky. The Kinjakan pretty much guaranteed that he left no physical trail as he covered ground, but he knew that the energy trail it left behind would be lit like a neon sign for someone like Cologne or Happosai for weeks after his passing. His only hope of completely throwing off his scent to any pursuers was if he traveled this way for a time, and then found a river or road he could travel on so he could travel without leaving a trail and find some way to mask the output of the staves in their inactive state. Not for the first time today he cursed the necessity to leave behind the box he had kept the two staves in. It had had a special liner that had blocked their power output, making them invisible unless he opened the box. But it was to large, and the liner prevented him from being able to put it into his stuff space, much like the shear power of the staves prevented him from stowing them in the folded Ki pocket.

As Ranma flew over the countryside, he couldn't help but feel that a weight had been taken off of his shoulders as he left his old life behind... This is what he was made for. Traveling. He had done it most of his life, and now he was doing it again. Sure his time at the Tendo's had been nice. It had been the first home he ever remembered having. But until now, he hadn't realized how restless he had become from staying in the same place for so long, training trips not withstanding. The freedom of traveling the open road, with no final destination in sight called to him.

He felt liberated, but at the same time, he regretted leaving a place he had called home behind... Maybe... Maybe when he returned to Nerima, he would call that place home again. Have a place to come back to for a while before setting out on another adventure...

Thoughts of his life, past, present, and future, came to Ranma as the kilometers flew by...

---End Chapter Three---

* * *

Ending Notes/tangent: Ok... Chapter Three... Chapter Three...

Only about half a days worth of events... Not exactly the pace I had imagined I'd be setting but we can't always have what we want. Chapter Four is already building in my head and the pace of the story should pick up from here. But for now I've got another story eating away at me and wanting to be written. Alice (My muse [Imaginary person in my head who I talk to from time to time and not actually someone I know]) is beating me over the head to work on this other story and I can't seem to get her to stop, so I might not come out with the next chapter for a while, not to mention that I have summer college courses to go to during the week and tests to study for, so it could be a while before the next chapter comes out.

For those of you wondering why I have American Refugees crossing into Mexico instead of the other way around in Ranma's musings; The Assassins Creed games take place in the year 2012 when Desmond isn't in the Animus and in the first game, if you read the computer messages, you find out some background information on the world outside of the place you're being held. One of them is a sort of report that mentions refugees crossing the border into Mexico.

If anyone sees any mistakes please leave a review and point them out... Heck, leave a review anyway! I welcome the feedback, and constructive criticism is always a plus.


	4. Quick Announcement

Quick Announcement: (Sept. 23, 2011)

There are very few things I like less than "Dead-fics", and as a personal goal, I fully intend to work on every fic I post until they reach a point where I can comfortably declare them "Complete" even if I run into issues that might prevent me from working on them for years at a time. This means that; No, Dragonfly and Dark Side of the Moon are not "Dead". They are (Or more accurately 'were': Read further for more details) simply on hold until such a time as I am able to resume working on them.

The reason for the delay in production is simple; I ran into a bit of trouble In Real Life a little over a year ago and I didn't even have a working computer up to a little over a month and a half ago, seeing as my desktop broke down (Mechanical failure in my Hard Drive and a short circuited mother-board at the same time FTL...). The only time I was able to use a computer during that time was at my local Library's cluster, but when limited by both the fact that I wasn't able to visit it every day due to my work schedule and that my library limits users to a maximum of one hour at a time, I wasn't able to get very much writing done.

This situation has been remedied. I am now borrowing an old laptop from a member of my family and have resumed working on my stories. Hopefully sometime within the next few months I will have something presentable to show for it.

For now, I am working on the next Chapter for SotS:DSotM as well as a new idea that's been bouncing around my head for a while now. However, Dragonfly will remain on hold until after _Assassins Creed: Revelations_ is released and I have the opportunity to play through it in order to hopefully get a better grasp of the Assassins Creed series and where it's going.

To Recap; None of my fics are "Dead" and I am currently working on the next chapters after almost a year without easy access to a computer. Dragonfly is still on hold until I am able to play through the next installment of the Assassins Creed series and I have another fic Idea that I am also working on in the meantime.

I thank you for your patience,

Almech Alfarion

(Child of Fire)


End file.
